Shaft-coupling.



GGGGGGGGGGGGGG l PPPPPPPPPPPP 1mm DEG. 222222 s. 1,055,606, I PatentedMar. 11,1913. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

P. H. GATHGART.

SHAFT COUPLING. v APPLIOATIOH FILED D120. 24, 1908.

Patented Mar. 11,1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INT EN TOR V '/lV TNESSES tome FRANK H. CATHCART, F TEENTON, NEVTJERSEY.

sHArT-coUPLINe.

Application filed December 24, 1908.

To ll whom it NbL j/ concern Be it known that I. FRANK H. Cxrncan'r,

of Trenton, in the county of Mercer. State of New Jersey, have. inventedcertain new.

and useful lmprovements in Shaft-Couplings and the Like, of which thefoltowing is a specification.

My invention relates to means for-operatively uniting abutting ends ofshafts and particularly sections of line shutting.

The advantage, theoretically, of means for etiecting, at will,connection or disconnection bet-ween one section of shaftinp and anotheris well recognized in the art, but great practical ditliculty has beenexperienced in producing a simple, reliable, economical, and effectivecoupling, one which may be readily adjusted into and out of service atany time, and which, when adjusted toservice, may be depended upon toinsure and preserve unin'ipaired the alinemeiit of the sha'lting towhich it is applied.

By my invention 1 producea shaft coupliug of the hind described, which,harmonizing theory and practice, combines the greatest strength andhighest clliciency with compactness and lightness of structure, and allat a gain, in the art, of economy in manufacturc.

With tiles-c and other objects in view, the invention consists incertain novel features of construction and combinations and arrangementsof parts as will be n'iorc fully hereinafter described and pointed outin the claim.

in the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 shows my device complete in itspreferred form of embodiment and as applied in service. the shell of thedevice being shown in diamctricat longitudinal section and the abuttingshaft sections and other portions shown in eh'evation. Fig. IT is asection on the line lI--il of Fig. 1. Fig. III is a side elevation of apart of my I of the same beinp broken-away for the purpose of betterillustration. Fig. 1V is aperspective view of the roller spacingandalining frame with the rollers in' place therein. Fig. V is adiagramimitic view illustrating my invention showing the rollersat oneend of their throw and Fig. VI is a similar View showing the rollers atthe other end of their throw.

1 and 2 indicate abutting shafts, such, for example, as sections of lineshafting, which when properly mounted or hung, have their Specificationof Letters Patent.

device, a portion Patented Mar. 11 1 913. Serial No. 469,148.

longitudinal axes in accurate alinement.

The shaft-sections 1 and 2 are illustrated as representative of any twomechanical ele ments such as my coupling is adapted operatiyely to uniteso to admit of then-eon .neetion or disconnection at will.

My coupling comprises a shell 5 whose longitudinal and transversedimensions are determinable by the workit is required to do and,ordinarily, by refefience to the diameter of the shaft-sections which itis the ollice of my coupling to unite The shell 5 is provided with apreferably coaxial bore 6, which snugly fits shafting of the size forwhich it is intended, represented in the drawings by the shaft-sectionsl and 2. The accurate alinement of the shaft-secti0ns being pre servedby their admission to the bore, I provide within the shell 5, adjacentrespectively to that end of each shaft-section which entcrs the bore (5,two cylindrical chambers 7 and 8, whose axes are slightly eccentric tothe axis of the bore ti, one chamber being provided for eachsl'iaft-section. The shell being reversible end for end, the chambers Tand '5 are substantially identical inconstruction and in theirrelationship, respectively, to the shaft-sections, and for that reasonreference herein to either chan'iber is equally applicable to both.

The measure of eccentricity of the chamher with reference to the bore 6,which is to say, .in other words, with reference to the shaft-sectionswhich enter the bore, constitutes a distinctive feature of my invention,as will be presently hereinafter explained. \Vithin each chamber, 1provide a plurality of rollers, indicated in the various figures by thereference numeral 11. The roller which I prefer to employ is preferablya truecylinder whose diameter is such as to admit of its acconnnodationwithin the chamber 7 or ,8 along with the proper shaft-section in suchmanner as to permit operative movement or throw of the roller within thechamber about said shaft-section, due to the eccentricity of the chamberwith respect to the shaft which it surrounds. i

it will appear from the foregoing thatif the shell be rotated-in eitherdirection, the rollers 11 will, at a certain point, engage the opposingwalls of the chamber and the shaft, which opposing walls define upon twosides the space within which the rollers work. In consequence of suchengagement, the shaft and shell Will become united, and

. ing them.

their union will continue so long as the direction of rotation betweenthe shaft and shell is relatively maintained. If, on the contrary, thedirection of rotation be changed, as by the manual operation of theshell upon a dead shaft, the interruption of the travel of the shellupon a coupled shaft, or the reversal of movement of one shaft-sectionin opposition. to the direct-ion of movement in the other shaft'section,the engagement between the rollers and the opposing walls of thechambers and the shaft will be broken, and the rollers thus releasedwill travel to the opposite end of its throw until again, but at anotherpoint, it engages the opposingwalls of the chamber and shaft, andoperatively unites them. The throw of the rollers, that is to saiytthelength of its travel from one point of engagement to the other, or, inother words, from their point of engagement with the shaft on one sideof the chamber to their point of engagement with the shaft on the otherside of the chamber,,is determinable/by the relative size of the rollersand the distance of separation between the centers of the bore 6 and ofthe chambers 7 or 8.

The diameter -of the roller, upon which the efiiciency of the couplinglargely depends, should be such as to insure between the roller, ontheone hand, and on the other,

=the opposing walls of the shaft and the chamber, certainty andpromptitude of engagement Without excessive or bursting strain upon theshell, or crushing strain upon the roller.

The means of preserving the parallelism between the axes of the rollersand the bore 6 is shown in the drawings, It is the preferred means forthe purposebeyause of the fact that the means under considerationperforms the additional function of spacing a pair of rollers as well asof positively alin- The spacing of the two rollers prevents contactbetween a functioning roller and an idler, where two rollers areemployed, and consequently diminishes the.

throw of the rollers to the extent of the space which separates therollers. The preferred means under consideration consists of a spacingand alining frame wherein the rollers are properly mounted and whichtravels with the rollers in their throw within.

the cou ling chamber. 7

-fll1e 'irame preferably conslstsof a pair of cheek-plates 17 and 18having a curva- .cwithou t the ture substmitially correspondent to thatof the chamber in which they work. The cheek plates are connected toopposite ends by transverse spacing-rods'19 and 20. The

space between the rods 19 and 20 is sufficient to accommodate therollers 11 at a proper distance-apart, and to that end the said rollersare provided at opposite ends with journals 21 that work in. suitablebearings provided for them, respectively, in the opposing cheek-plates.It is observable that the ends of the cheek-plates which carry the rodsand which project beyondthe rollers on opposite sides are of smallerwidth than the ditllllQtQlO'E the rollers, and that consequently theyare free to work within the chamber least contact with the wall of thechamber, on the one hand, or with the shaftsections on the other.

The material of which my coupling is made may be of any kind suitablefor the purpose, that preferred for ordinary uses being steel, whereofthe bearing parts may be, required. suitably hardened to any extentthatmay appear to be desirable.

In the middle part of the shell 5, 1 provide a radial aperture 22 (seeFig. I) which penetrates the shell from its exterior to its bore. Itaffords means of engagement with the coupling of an instrument forturning it, and also renders the interior of the coupling visible,thereby facilitating the adjusting of the coupling mi'dwisc uponabutting shaft-sections. Other means for operating the coupling may beemployed, but the aperture 22 is preferred because it serves twopurposes and both equally well.

Having described my invention what I claim is,

A shaft coupling provided with concentric bores and eccentric chambers,in combination. with shafts passing through such concentric bores andeccentric chambers, and a roller-hacking device in each eccentricchamber between the shaft end and the surface of the chamber, suchroller locking device consisting of a frame provided with a 'JAMEs F. A.Pninurs,

B. M. PHILLIPS;

